Central America: New Hopes for Integration

Nov 1, 2010

Crime and political rifts continue to block progress towards unity in Central America. Strides towards forging critical mass have been made, but full integration is lagging.

by Sean Mattson

While parts of LatAm commemorate two centuries of freedom from
Spanish colonial rule this year, the region’s
forgotten corner is quietly realizing that old-fashioned
independence does not work so well in a globalized market. In
Central America, 2010 is still shy of a bicentennial but marks
the 50-year anniversary of a five-country club created to bring
economic integration.

It is hardly a reason to
crack open champagne. The milestone serves more of a reminder
that the region has little to show for two generations of
mostly talk about unification.

That may finally be
changing. Skepticism still reigns at the prospect of Central
America becoming an open-border market of 40 million people
under a single currency. Two recent events, however, suggest it
is slowly moving in that direction.

The first is near-completion of an electrical
interconnection grid that promises to attract hundreds of
millions of dollars...